Which is the True Adar?

As we approach the onset of the second month of Adar – Adar Sheini – we dedicate the present article to the oft-confusing identification of the “true” month of Adar. As we shall see, choosing between the two months of Adar has ramifications embracing a wide range of halachic issues.

For instance, in which of the two Adar months is a bar-mitzvah celebrated? When is a yahrzeit commemorated? Which of the two months is considered Adar for legal purposes, such as where a contract stipulates Adar? When is the appropriate time to augment one’s joy, as befitting the month of Adar?

In the paragraphs below we will seek to bring a degree of clarity to the issue – a task not as easy as one might initially think.

Why Extend the Year?

Chazal (Sanhedrin 11b) teach us that the year is extended (into an ibbur or leap year) for three reasons: “For the spring, for the fruit of the trees, and for the season.” The most basic of the three reasons, and the only one made explicit by a Torah passage, is the first: “Guard the month of the spring, and you shall make Pesach for Hashem, your G-d” (Devarim 16:1).

The Sages derive an explicit instruction from this verse:  ensure that Pesach occurs in the spring. The reason for this is that the omer offering, consisting of freshly cut barley, is offered on Pesach (Rashi, Sanhedrin). Barley is not harvested earlier in the year, and by consequence Pesach must be celebrated in the spring.

The Hebrew calendar is lunar by nature, whereas seasons occur according to the solar calendar, so that the discrepancy between them (approximately 11.25 days) is corrected by adding an extra month every few years. This ensures that Pesach coincides with the spring.

A Dozen Possibilities: Why Adar?

Any one of the twelve months of the year could ostensibly have been selected for the “leap year.” Why was Adar chosen?

Rashi (Rosh Hashana 7a) explains that the verse “guard the month of the spring” refers to the month closest to spring: “Double the month before spring in order to ensure that Nissan falls in springtime,” The “guard” for the month of Nissan is the month that precedes it. Hence, the very reason for the extension of the year is also the reason for the choice of Adar.

Tosafos (Sanhedrin 12a) give a different reason. Doubling any other month would lead to the result that the month of Adar would not be the twelfth month of the year, but the thirteenth. Tosafos explains that this would contradict an explicit verse in Megillas Esther (3:7), stating that Adar is the twelfth month of the year. In keeping with this statement, only the month of Adar is doubled.

Which is the Real Adar?

Tosafos (Rosh Hashanah 19b) address the question of which of the two months is the true Adar, and which is the added month. Although as noted, the twelfth month must be the month of Adar, Tosafos write that the first Adar is actually the additional month. The ‘true’ month is Adar Beis – the final month of the year.

Although this appears to tie well with the fact that Purim is celebrated in the second month of Adar, it is important to note that this cannot be raised as proof of identity. The Gemara (Megillah 7b) explains that Purim is observed in Adar II in order to juxtapose the redemption of Purim to the redemption of Pesach – and not because of the identity of the month.

Tosafos reach a similar conclusion in discussion of another question: Which of the two months goes by the name of Adar (Adar stam), and which requires a word of clarification? This question is asked in the context of the following Talmudic debate: If somebody makes a vow stating that it should apply “until Adar,” is the vow binding until the first Adar, or does it extend until the second?

Tana’im relate to this question in discussing the proper way to date legal documents. Tosafos (Nedarim 63b) write that the halachah follows the opinion of Rabbi Meir, who ruled that “Adar” alone refers to the second month of Adar, whereas the first month of Adar must be termed “Adar Rishon.”

It thus emerges that according to the Tosafos the question of which is the true Adar and which question of which is termed “Adar” have the same answer: the second month. Tosafos will presumably argue that the verse in Esther (7:3) referring to Adar as the twelfth month is true even if it is called “Adar Rishon.”

Kessef Mishnah explains that this is also the Rambam‘s opinion (Nedarim 1:6).

Nomenclature and Halachah

Other rishonim (see Ran, Nedarim 63b; Shita Mekubetzes), however, do not concur with the ruling of the Tosafos. They argue that the halachah should follow the opinion of Rabbi Yehudah, who considers the first of the two months to be “Adar,” and the second to be “Adar Sheini.” According to these opinions, if a person makes a vow relating to “Adar,” it must be fulfilled by the first of the two Adar months.

Does this mean that these rishonim also disagree with the ruling of Tosafos concerning which of the two months is the principle month of Adar? Not necessarily.

It is possible that these rishonim maintain that the first month is “Adar” for written and spoken purposes only. However, for various other halachic matters, the second of the two is the authentic Adar.

Although Tosafos seem to tie both questions together, the Maharsham (Nedarim loc. cit.) explains that the reason (according to the Tosafos) for which the  reference to Adar implies the second month is because people refer to the month in which Purim occurs as Adar. This does not mean that other rishonim, who rule that a reference to Adar implies the first month, will dispute even the classification of the second month as the true halachic Adar.

The Shulchan Aruch’s Opinion

The rulings of the Shulchan Aruch appear to follow the distinction outlined above. On the one hand, the Shulchan Aruch rules clearly that for both legal documents and gittin the first of the two months is termed “Adar” (Choshen Mishpat 43:28; Even Ha-Ezer 126:7; see Chasam Sofer, Orach Chaim 163). If a person writes a get in Adar II and writes “Adar” with no addition, the get is actually disqualified!

But on the other hand, for purposes of a yahrzeit the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 568:7) rules that the day should be commemorated on the second month, thus indicating that this is the ‘true’ halachic month of Adar. The Shulchan Aruch thus makes a distinction between Adar stam – the question ofwhich month is designated “Adar” – and the halachic month of Adar.

When to Celebrate a Bar-Mitzvah

Based on the principles outlined above, we are now ready to address one of the basic questions concerning the Adar months: When should we celebrate the bar-mitzvah of a boy born in Adar? There are a number of variations to this question, each of which needs to be addressed separately.

Born on Adar of a leap year, and thirteenth year is a regular year: A child that was born on Adar of a leap year, be it in the first or second month of Adar, becomes bar-mitzvah in a regular year on the corresponding day of Adar. This gives rise to a seeming paradox: A child born on the fifth day (for instance) of Adar II will reach bar-mitzvah before a child born on the tenth day of Adar I (Shulchan Aruch 55:10).

Born on Adar of a regular year, and thirteenth year is a leap year: TheRema (ibid.) rules that the child only becomes bar-mitzvah in the second Adar month. This is in keeping with the ruling of Tosafos, whereby the second month of Adar is the true halachic Adar, and the first Adar month is the addition. See also below.

Born on Adar I in a leap year and the thirteenth year is (also) a leap year: The Magen Avraham (55:10) derives from the wording of Shulchan Aruch that the child becomes bar-mitzvah on Adar I, whereas a child born on Adar II becomes bar-mitzvah on Adar II. The Magen Avraham questions this ruling based on the Rema’s above mentioned ruling (whereby a child born on Adar in a simple year becomes bar-mitzvah only on Adar II of a leap year). The reason for this ruling, according to the Magen Avraham, is that a leap year possesses thirteen (as opposed to twelve) months, and a child only reached bar-mitzvah after a full thirteen years had passed.

Based on this reasoning, the Magen Avraham rules that a child born on Adar I of a leap year only becomes bar-mitzvah on Adar II of the leap year that is his 13^th year –for only then does he pass thirteen full years (the last year comprising thirteen months).

However, many authorities dispute this ruling, as noted by the Be’er Heitev (11, citing from Shevus Yaakov, Orach Chaim 9). The Mishnah Berurah (43) follows the majority ruling whereby a child born on Adar I becomes bar-mitzvah on Adar I.

Some have written that the dispute between the above authorities depends on whether a child becomes bar-mitzvah when he completes thirteen full years, or when he reaches his birthday for the thirteenth time (see Zichron Shaul, Siman 55, no. 10). The Magen Avraham sides with the former argument, meaning that the child can only become bar-mitzvah after the full thirteen months of the leap year pass by. Other authorities side with the latter argument, according to which the bar-mitzvah is reached when the relevant day of Adar I occurs for the 13th time.

Born on the 30^th of Shevat, and thirteenth year is a leap year: This date does not occur on a leap year, raising the question of when the child becomes bar-mitzvah. Shut Binyan Zion (151) writes that the child becomes bar-mitzvah on the first day of Rosh Chodesh Adar II. The reason for this is that the second Adar month is the principle month of Adar, and the child’s birthday, the 30^th of Shevat (the first day of Rosh Chodesh Adar) corresponds to this day.

When to Commemorate a Yahrzeit

The question when to commemorate a yahrzeit has been asked recurrently on our website. When should we commemorate the yahrzeit of one who passed away in Adar: in the first or second month?

The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 568:7), as noted above, rules that the yahrzeit of somebody who passed away in Adar of a regular year is commemorated (by fasting, saying kaddish, etc.) on the second Adar of a leap year.

The Rema, however, makes the following addition: “Some state that he should fast in the first [Adar], unless the demise was in the second Adar of a leap year, in which case one fasts in Adar II. The custom is to fast in the first Adar. However, some are stringent and fast in both months.” Elsewhere (Yoreh De’ah 402:2), the Rema confirms that the principle ruling is to fast in the first Adar month.

The Mishnah Berurah (42) adds that although it is proper to fast in both months, one does not have the right to defer others in davening from the amud and saying kaddish twice.

How is this ruling of the Rema consistent with his ruling on bar-mitzvahs, according to which a child becomes bar-mitzvah only in Adar II? There are two possible approaches for resolving this difficulty:

1. Shut Mahari Mintz (9, quoted by the Rema in Yoreh De’ah) writes, based on the above-mentioned Gemara in Nedarim, that the true halachic Adar is the second Adar month, and this is therefore the time when a child becomes bar-mitzvah. However, a yahrzeit is commemorated specifically in the first month, because the fast of a yahrzeit depends on the count of twelve months from the time of the niftar’s passing. Although this rationale applies specifically to the first year of a parent’s passing, it remains sufficient to determine the correct yahrzeit even for subsequent leap years as falling in Adar I.

Shut Chasam Sofer (Orach Chaim 14) adds that one should not think, based on this rationale, that the yahrzeit of somebody deceased in Adar I would occur in Shevat of the next year (after 12 months). The rationale is limited to deciding between two months of Adar, but is not a strong enough reason to substitute Adar with Shevat.

2. According to the Terumas Hadeshen (294, also mentioned by Rema), the Gemara’s conclusion (in Nedarim) is that for purposes of nomenclature “Adar”is the first, and not the second month. According to his opinion, the custom of fasting on a yahrzeit is considered as a vow (made by the child of the deceased parent) to fast each year on the day of his parent’s passing. Therefore, a person must fast specifically in the first Adar, which is the month of Adar stam.

This explanation is appropriate for explaining the opinion of the Rema, for in the laws of Nedarim, the Rema concurs with the ruling of the Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh De’ah 220) whereby Adar stam is the first Adar month.[1]

Yahrzeit for the 30^th of Adar I

Another halachah concerns somebody whose parent died on the thirtieth day of Adar I – a date that does not occur on a regular year. This question, which also arises for a number of other months, is the subject of a dispute among authorities. Some state that the yahrzeit should be commemorated on the 29^th of the previous month (Magen Avraham 568:7), and others write that it should be commemorated on the first of the following month (Machatzis Hashekel).

Rav Moshe Feinstein (Iggros Moshe, Orach Chaim Vol. 3, no. 159) rules that the yahrzeit should be commemorated on the first of the following month, explaining that it is unreasonable to commemorate the passing on a date when the parent was still alive. Therefore, if a parent passed away on the thirtieth day of Adar I (in a leap year), the yahrzeit is commemorated (in a regular year) on the first day of Nissan.

When Adar Enters…

When should a person “augment joy,” in keeping with the Talmudic ruling (Taanis 29b) of Mishenichnas Adar Marbim BeSimchah: Adar I or Adar II?

Rashi explains that the days of Adar are joyous because they were “days of miracles, Purim and Pesach.” Rav Yaakov Emden (Shut Yaavatz no. 88) explains that Rashi could not explain the joy of Adar based on Purim alone, for why, in this case, would be Adar more joyous (on account of Purim) than Nissan (for Pesach) and Kislev (for Chanukah). Rather, the reason is because these are consecutive months of miracles.

The Yaavatz goes on to add that Rashi hints in his words at the correct time to augment joy in a leap year. Rashi clearly implies that the “miracle months” of Adar and Nissan are adjacent to one another. The Gemara explains (Megillah 6b) that Purim is observed in the second month of Adar because we celebrate both redemptions (Purim and Pesach) in consecutive months. Thus, the joy of Adar in a leap year begins only with the onset of Adar II.

May the days of Adar be truly joyous, and may these days of miraculous redemption bring with them the final Redemption, speedily and in our time.